End cap for venetian blind slats



Feb. 28, 1950 s. D. BRADLEY 2,498,909

END CAP FOR VENETIAN BLIND sLATs Filed July 2s. 1945 @WQQMQQ l; 51j?, NVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 28, 1950 END CAP FOR VENETIAN@BLIND-=SrIzAfTSN Stephenl Duncanv Bradley, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., assigner to Detroit Macoid- Corporation; Detroit, Mich., a corporationY cffllli'chgan'.

Application July 23, 1945Serial.No.606,523` l This invention relates to an end cap for Venetian blind slats, for the purpose of enhancing the decorative appearance of the blinds as Well as to silence ther-rattling oi"l the slatsl in the Venetian blind assembly.

An object of this invention isl to provide' an attachment for standard Venetian blinds-in the nature of an anti-rattling device that isl easily attached to the ends of the slats inA Venetian blinds already installed.

A second object of this invention is to provide a plastic cap attachment for the ends of the slats utilized in Venetian blinds, the caps being so designed as to further enhance the architectural and decorative characteristics of the said Venetian blinds.

A third object of this invention is to provide a Venetian blind attachment that will permit the adjustment of the length of each individual Venetian blind slat at the time of installation by cutting off the ends of the individual Venetian blind slats but obviating the necessity for painting the freshly cut ends.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a portion of a Venetian blind, the individual slats of which are provided with the resilient caps of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2 2, Fig. 3, in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of one of the end caps shown on the end of a blind slat in Fig. 1.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring to Fig. 1, a conventional type of It is understood that Fig. 1 is a partial View of a total Venetian, blind assembly. The operating. mechanism.,,suchl as* the' raising-and lowering ropes and mechanisms are usually apart-of the'. header which is not shown. Since such mechani'smsand headers are well* known in-the art, they are here omitted in the interes-t*v of simplifyingy the: presentr disclosure. On the end oi" each ofv th'eslats I`'2shown inflFi'g. lis-a resilient cap I4. An enlarged plan of the cap If-lis shown in Fig. 3.

The cap I4 has a body which is essentially U- shaped in top plan view having rounded end portions IE at each end of the leg portions I1. An internal groove I 5 extends along the inside edges of the legs I'I and around the inner side of the U-shaped body and is best shown in the crosssectional View, Fig. 2.

Although the leg portions I'I of U-shaped cap I4 are shown as extending only a small portion of the length of the individual slat I2, it will be understood that when desired the legs I'I of the cap may extend the entire length of the Venetian blind slat. The groove I5 is so dmensioned that the end and side edge portions of the slat I2 are received in the groove I5 and the iianges on the leg portions I'I will overlie a predetermined portion of the side edge portion of the slat to which it is attached.

The cap I4 is preferably fabricated out of a suitable resilient material, as for example a polyvinyl elastomeric material having such degree of softness at room temperature that when the individual slats are moved, as by air currents, there will be no rattling or other noise since it will be muiiied by the caps I4.

To further enhance the architectural or decorative value of these caps, they may be made of any color or hue such as is desired to match or harmonize with the colors of the surroundings ln which the blinds are to be installed.

The caps Mare resilient and are molded to a. size preferably slightly smaller than the ends of the slats I2 to which they are to be attached. This will insure a gripping engagement vof the caps I4 with the ends of the slats While'permitl ting a ready removal or installation of the caps.

When the'blind is in the raised position, the

faces of the corresponding caps on the next adjacent slats. This vprovides a resilient buffer or stop between the endsf of the slats which AelirniyHates COIltactgbetWeenithe slats and thuselimi- Y nates the source/foi much noise otherwise due to i.rattling of the slats.

An ornamental appearance may be imparted to the'entire lateral edge of each Slat in the blind by extending the length of the legs l1 along the entire lateral edge or any desired portion thereof.

I claim:

1. A resilient plastic end cap for easy attachment to or removal from the ends of individual slats of a Venetian blind, and comprising a substantially U-shaped resilient plastic body having a groove for receiving the end and a selected portion of the lateral edges of a Venetian blind Slat.

2. A resilient cap for attachment to the end of a slat forming a part of a Venetian blind structure and comprising an internally grooved substantially U-shaped body portion adapted to receive the end of the slat and overlie said end and a selected portion of the adjacent lateral edges thereof.

3. A colored resilient plastic cap having a gen- -erally U-shaped body portion having an internal 4groove conforming in shape and size to the shape vland -size of the end portion of a Venetian blind lslat.

slats, an anti-rattling buffer on each slat and comprising a resilient cap having a. substantial U-shaped body portion engaging and overlying the end portion and a selected portion of the Agroove extending around said body portion for engaging and overlying the end portion and a selected portion of the lateral sides adjacent said end portion of each of said slats.

STEPHEN DUNCAN BRADLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 586,828 Tresdorfer July 20, 1897 1,085,799 Crandall Feb. 3, 1914 1,169,123 Burns Jan. 25, 1916 1,218,244 Donovan Mar. 6, 1917 1,556,966 Selig Oct. 13, 1925 2,280,931 Rice Apr. 28, 1942 

